Varane and Mendy absent in Real Madrid-Chelsea combined Champions League XI
We've reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, with the first legs taking place this week. Real Madrid host Chelsea tonight as the competition's most successful club welcome the Blues to the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
Chelsea's defensive resolve will be put to the test, but having shipped just one goal in their last seven games away from Stamford Bridge, Thomas Tuchel will be confident of masterminding another clean sheet in Madrid this evening. Given Chelsea's fine defensive resolve, it's no surprise they dominate the defence in the combined XI.
Using WhoScored's rating system, we look at the best XI between Real Madrid and Chelsea. The rating for each player is from starts alone in their respective league and Champions League campaign, while potential inclusions must have made 10 or more league and European starts combined this season.
Injured and suspended players are not able to feature in this XI, which means the likes of Lucas Vazquez and Mateo Kovacic of Real Madrid and Chelsea, respectively, miss out. Starting from the back, we look at the combined XI of the two teams.
In between the sticks, it's a familiar face for Chelsea fans with Thibaut Courtois (6.75) edging out current Blues number one Edouard Mendy (6.70). Blues fans are of course hoping it is an unhappy reunion for Courtois over both legs.
As mentioned, it is an all-Chelsea backline, with Reece James (7.19) securing the spot at right-back. This was a close encounter as Lucas Vazquez (7.19) would have featured in the role had he not been injured for this clash. James' compatriot Ben Chilwell (7.02) occupies the left-back spot with teammate Marcos Alonso (6.92) his closest rival for the role.
At the heart of the defence is Kurt Zouma (7.16) and Antonio Rudiger (7.05), though it's worth noting that Sergio Ramos (7.07) would have made the side had he been fit to feature. However, while it's an all-Chelsea defence, Real Madrid dominate the midfield.
Casemiro (7.41) sits at the base of the midfield in this XI with Luka Modric (7.13) and Toni Kroos (7.35) flanking the Brazilian. The triumvirate will hope to play a key role and control proceedings on home turf as Los Blancos look to progress to the Champions League final.
However, they will have their work cut out to keep Mason Mount (7.27) at bay with the Chelsea star nailing down a spot behind the frontmen in this 4-3-1-2 setup. Mount bagged his first goal in his last away Champions League outing, bagging a crucial away goal in Porto, and he'll hope to follow that up in Spain.
French duo Karim Benzema (7.64) and Olivier Giroud (7.11) lead the charge in this combined XI. The former is the best rated player of the two teams and having netted 26 times in league and Champions League action this season, he'll look to maintain his record of scoring four goals in four starts in the competition tonight.
Giroud, meanwhile, has been exceptional in the Champions League this season having scored six times across 255 minutes of action, netting every 42.5 minutes in the competition. The experienced forward netted four times on his last start in Spain - a 4-0 group stage win over Sevilla - and the 34-year-old will hope to add his record at Real Madrid's expense.
